Bush and the Phone Companies: Partners in Crime

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




Timothy Karr
Bush and the Phone Companies: Partners in Crime
Posted October 11, 2007 | 07:03 AM (EST)




Phone companies have opened a new front in their campaign against the free flow of information. This time they've found a powerful ally in the White House.

AT&T and Verizon have already shown their disdain for free speech and Net Neutrality, and their eagerness to let government spies lurk on our phone calls. Now, their lobbyists have teamed with President George Bush to strong arm Congress into granting full immunity for a disturbing array of illegal and unconstitutional acts.

A handful of legislators, though, are holding out against the pressure, which is no small feat given the extreme powers behind the amnesty grab.

Money, Politics and the Law

Both Verizon and AT&T spend hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign contributions, congressional junkets, Washington lawyers, lobbyists and PR campaigns.

Much of this political clout is now being focused on one issue: elevating phone companies above the law so they can invade our homes via phone lines, the Internet and other modern communications -- acting as the ultimate gatekeepers against the free flow of information.

Earlier this year they were caught handing over customer phone records to the National Security Agency (NSA). The phone companies first denied it and then started a quiet campaign with the White House to gain immunity from any lawsuits.

The campaign got a lot louder on Wednesday, when President Bush told reporters that he would veto a new FISA eavesdropping bill that doesn't grant retroactive immunity to the phone companies. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/bush-and-the-phone-compan_b_67992.html

[TomInTib]

1. And Carlyle has been buying Directory Assistance Companies.

When they started doing that about five years ago (Denver-area was first), I wondered how there could possibly be enough money in it for them.

Well....